PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING MEDICAL CONDITION -...

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING MEDICAL
CONDITION
DSM-IV
316 (Psychological factors) affecting medical condition
Choose name based on nature of/most prominent factor:
Mental disorder affecting medical condition
Psychological symptoms affecting medical condition
Personality traits or coping style affecting medical condition
Maladaptive health behaviors affecting medical condition
Stress-related physiological response affecting medical condition
Unspecified psychological factors affecting medical condition
(Refer to DSM-IV listing for specific definitions.)
These disorders represent a group of ailments in which emotional stress is a contributing factor to
physical problems (coded on Axis III) involving an organ system under involuntary control. Any organ
system may be affected, depending on the individual’s susceptibility. The result is the development or
exacerbation of, interference with therapy for, and / or delayed recovery from a medical condition.
Lists of related medical conditions are subject to change as research progresses because to date a clear
psychological-biological connection has been implied but not yet scientifically proved.
ETIOLOGICAL THEORIES
Although the etiology of psychosomatic disorders is unknown, an individual’s emotional state and life
circumstances are believed to significantly affect the onset, form, and course of psychosomatic illness. The
interaction of psychological, social, and biological factors becomes evident as physical symptoms appear
and diminish in direct relationship to the amount of stress the person is experiencing. Psychophysiological
disorders do occur without known psychological components, but these disorders usually require some
genetic predisposition to respond to stress pathologically.
Psychodynamics
Thought   to   center   around   issues   of   unresolved   dependency   conflicts,   undischarged   aggressive
feelings, repressed anger, hostility, resentment, and anxiety, these conflicts are expressed somatically.
Physiological   responses   correspond   to   unconscious   emotional   conflict   instead   of   directly   through
verbalization, indicating inadequate or maladaptive defense mechanisms.
Interpersonal theory proposes that individuals with specific personality traits are predisposed to
develop or precipitate certain disease processes (e.g., those who are dependent may develop asthma);
depression has been linked to cancer and aggressiveness to chest pain or dysrhythmias.